Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether car repair garages are eligible for funding from Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund; and if he will make a statement.

The Government has announced an unprecedented package of support for businesses to help with their ongoing business costs in recognition of the disruption caused by COVID-19. This package of support includes the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF).

Businesses in England that would have been in receipt of the Expanded Retail Discount (which covers retail, hospitality and leisure) on 11 March?with?a rateable value of less than £51,000 will be eligible for a RHLGF cash grant per property of either £10,000 or £25,000 depending on the rateable value of the property.

Guidance on the types of businesses covered by the Expanded Retail Discount can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-rates-retail-discount-guidance. It is for individual local billing authorities to adopt a local scheme and determine in each individual case when, having regard to this guidance, to grant relief. Any enquiries on eligibility for the Expanded Retail Discount and thus the RHLGF should be directed to the relevant local authority.

For more information on the RHLGF please visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-the-coronavirus-retail-hospitality-and-leisure-grant-fund

In addition, on?1 May,?the Government announced that up to £617 million is being made available to local authorities?in England to allow them to provide discretionary grants. The?Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund is aimed at small businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs but are not liable for business rates or rates reliefs.

Businesses already in receipt of a Small Business grant or a Retail, Hospitality and Leisure grant are not eligible for this fund. Businesses who are eligible for or in receipt of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) are now eligible to apply for this scheme.

Guidance, intended to support local authorities in administering the Discretionary Grants Fund, was published 13 May and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-business-support-grant-funding. Local authorities are responsible for developing their local scheme, having regard to this guidance, and decisions about which businesses to support, and the level of grant to award, are for local authorities to take.